Covid-19 cases climb by more than 3,100 as SA passes 1-million test mark

11 June 2020 - 18:00
By Staff Reporter
Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Thursday that there are 58,568 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in SA. File picture.
Image: Photo by Gallo Images/Phill Magakoe Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize announced on Thursday that there are 58,568 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in SA. File picture.

There are now 58,568 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in SA, health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said on Thursday.

This was an increase of 3,157 cases from the 55,421 announced on Wednesday night.

Mkhize also announced another milestone in the country's fight against Covid-19, with more than 1-million tests now having been done.

“1,028,399 tests have been conducted cumulatively, of which 29,999 were conducted since the last report [Wednesday]," he said.

The latest death toll was not announced as the figures were still being collated.

Mkhize was speaking in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Thursday after a visit to the province.

Despite having done significantly fewer tests than Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape has the third most Covid-19 cases in the country. By Thursday, it had 7,868 cases — behind only the Western Cape (37,422) and Gauteng (7,953)

According to figures released on Wednesday night, the Eastern Cape had the second-highest death toll, with 147 deaths. The Western Cape had 927.